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Post by houndle on May 25, 2024 11:17:16 GMT -5
Today I revisited a project I put on the back burner a while ago; the challenge of designing a generator for credible-sounding fantasy names.
For credible, I mean something that is random but more-or-less recreates the pattern of letters one finds in English; for example, not repeating the letter Q consecutively. I don't know why fantasy Kindred shouldn't have their own linguistic conventions, but somehow it makes them less relatable if I can't pronounce their names.
Anyway I had a shot at it this afternoon and came up with a first draft. At the moment it's all done on a spreadsheet but I may turn it into code if (a) there's any wider interest in it and (b) there isn't an existing product that does the same (or better) job.
My first run through gave me these; I could imagine rolling up stats for some of them: Onapodute Inasotivo Nacllanup Wubunubow Nubefivil Utapammey Sullaqinn Jatipogun Winusafur Ceboyivex
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mosker
5th Level Troll
Posts: 597
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Post by mosker on May 25, 2024 12:21:34 GMT -5
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darrght
4th Level Troll
Wow, I'm a 4th Level Troll!
Posts: 449
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Post by darrght on May 25, 2024 15:04:59 GMT -5
Excellent work houndle I must say that I tend to towards the lazy when it comes to names, so I end up here Fantasy Name Generator if I need to name an elf or a planet or just about anything
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Post by houndle on May 26, 2024 0:50:19 GMT -5
Hmm, I suspected someone else had done the same thing and more of it. Good resource darrght, thank for the link. I'll get back in my box now.
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kwll
4th Level Troll
Posts: 257
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Post by kwll on May 26, 2024 4:35:00 GMT -5
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Post by nialldubh on May 26, 2024 7:48:53 GMT -5
I cannot remember where I got this, but it is good work...
Sorcerer Names
Roll 1d100 to determine the initial syllable of a wizard’s name, then 1d100 one or more times for additional syllables, and remove vowels as necessary.
At your option, roll on another chart (from locations or titles) to determine an epithet for this sorcerer, either before their name, or after, attached via words such as “of,” “of the,” or “the.”
Roll Initial Syllable
1 Aba / Ada 26 Far 51 Kiah 76 Sab / Sob
2 Abri 27 Fay / Feh 52 Kud 77 Sad / Sidi
3 Af 28 Gab / Ghib 53 Lah / Lay 78 Saf / Shaf
4 Ah / Ak 29 Gelah 54 Mah / Mal 79 Saj / Shez
5 Aliy 30 Geza / Giz 55 Marti 80 Sam / Shems
6 Amm / An 31 Ghay 56 Mir / Mur 81 Salah
7 Asa / Ash 32 Ghul / Gol 57 Miy / Muy 82 Sav / Sep
8 Azar / Azi 33 Gudah 58 Mozh 83 Seno / Sim
9 Bah / Bey 34 Hak / Hik 59 Mukh 84 Shab
10 Bal / Bil 35 Ham / Han 60 Mus 85 Sher
11 Bam / Ben 36 Hav 61 Nah 86 Shiy / Siah
12 Bora 37 Hos 62 Nil 87 Shoh / Zoh
13 Char 38 Hwah 63 Nur 88 Tab
14 Chet 39 Ibi 64 Oh / Os 89 Tah / Taj
15 Dah 40 Ik / Iq 65 Par 90 Tal / Taw
16 Dam / Din 41 Il / Iru 66 Qah / Quy 91 Tam / Tan
17 Dar 42 Isa 67 Qis 92 Touf
18 Dauw / Dav 43 Jah / Juh 68 Rah / Reh 93 Ul / Urs
19 Del / Dil 44 Jam / Jin 69 Ram / Rin 94 Vah
20 Ebu 45 Kah / Khay 70 Ras 95 Vish
21 Eh / Ej 46 Kam / Kan 71 Riy 96 Vol / Wal
22 El 47 Kas / Khash 72 Riz / Rus 97 Was / Yas
23 Erd 48 Kata 73 Rogh / Ruk 98 Yaw / Yuh
24 Es / Ez 49 Kav 74 Roh / Ruy 99 Yus
25 Ett 50 Khozh 75 Sa / Shah 100 Zar / Zur
To create the names of prophets and other notables from the early days of the civilization, or names common among the desert peoples of the South, do the following:
• Replace all /p/ and /v/ sounds with /b/ or /f/ and the consonant /w/.
• Replace all hard /g/ sounds with a softer /j/ or a voiceless post-velar stop /q/.
• Replace some /d/ and /t/ sounds with interdental fricatives /dh/ and /th/.
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Post by Aramis of Erak on May 26, 2024 8:44:28 GMT -5
I've sometimes used a dual cipher process... one for vowels (aeiouy) I usually use english dictionary notation (ăäāĕēəĭīŏōŭū), by sound of source. one for consonants, including čðþšž, with jotation getting y and the hard j keeps the j. I shuffle two strings for the destination (one vowel, one consonant), then lookup letter by letter, converting
For example
I used the following to randomize import random a= ["b","d","f","g","h","ȟ","i","j","k","l","m","n","ń","p","r","s","š","t","ð","þ","v","w","y","z","ž"] random.shuffle(a) print(a) which gives ['ž', 'g', 't', 'f', 'd', 's', 'p', 'j', 'k', 'z', 'i', 'l', 'š', 'h', 'r', 'w', 'ȟ', 'b', 'ń', 'v', 'ð', 'n', 'þ', 'm', 'y']
I manually reduce it to "žgtfdspjkzilšhrwȟbńvðnþmy" (python)
SourceVowels = "ăäāĕēəĭīŏōŭū" DestVowels = "ŭīūēŏōĭĕəäāă" SourceConsonants = "bdfghȟijklmnńprsštðþvwyzž" DestConsonants = "žgtfdspjkzilšhrwȟbńvðnþmy" defaultString = "aäāeēəiyŏouū"
inString = "-" while len(inString) > 0: ## get the word print("input a source word: ", end="") inString = input() if len(inString) >0: ## do the conversions outString = "«" for a in inString: if a in defaultString: b = defaultString.find(a) a = SourceVowels[b] if a in SourceVowels: b = SourceVowels.find(a) outString = outString + DestVowels[b] elif a in SourceConsonants: b = SourceConsonants.find(a) outString = outString + DestConsonants[b] elif a in ".,-": outString += a else: pass outString = outString+"»" print("That becomes: ",outString)
Oh, note that it's case sensitive... one can render it less so by Putting in fred gets trēg, which can render to Treeg wŭdy becomes nāgĕ, which I'd render as Naygee (hard g)
A little more complexity would allow for case insensitivity, and common diglyphs (ph, ch, th,sh) and some less common ones (kh, zh). leaving it as a list object instead of string allows for more flexibility.
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dungeondevil
3rd Level Troll
Give me grain and I'll give you guns!
Posts: 214
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Post by dungeondevil on May 28, 2024 8:13:16 GMT -5
I prefer a generator that uses, not syllables, but actual words, e.g. Strumfiddle Droopysocks (obviously a bard).
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Post by houndle on May 28, 2024 9:07:50 GMT -5
Interesting to see the variety of approaches.
If I'm creating a character I think will last a while (for a PbP, for example) I tend to take more care over selecting a name, and try to choose something which reflects the character concept. As far as generators are concerned, mainly I was looking for alternatives to the vast army of short-lived anonymous characters that I run through solos. (Brought Labyrinth with me this week as I am not so far from Crete. I'd like to see more of these solos designed around a specific (real-world) mythology - something to include in a themed issue of TrollsZine, perhaps?)
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Post by Aramis of Erak on May 30, 2024 17:23:25 GMT -5
I prefer a generator that uses, not syllables, but actual words, e.g. Strumfiddle Droopysocks (obviously a bard). The type of name I tend to ban at my table for almost all games. I hate them. I guess it falls to "you do you, boo," (Angela Basset) but know you're not doing that at my table. And it'd keep me from your table, too. It snaps my verisimilitude. I'll note that the dual partial cyphers method works for more than just names. Set a cipher string for each language. It's also reversible. Just keep the source and dest arrays the same number of terms. I love being able to generate dictionaries with consistent process; some uses, I go and post process for certain unpronounceable combinations or duplicated sounds (which does break easy reversibility.
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tp
3rd Level Troll
Posts: 247
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Post by tp on May 31, 2024 1:38:54 GMT -5
It snaps my verisimilitude. Even though a lot of real word names consist of existing words?
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Post by houndle on May 31, 2024 3:01:37 GMT -5
Given that a lot of surnames ultimately reflect a profession, locale or family relationship I have no great problem with the use of real words in surnames. I think it is important that names fit the style of the campaign players are involved in - ultimately a matter of taste. To give them a more "fantasy" feel I sometimes translate the words into another (usually ancient) language - or I get the internet to do it!
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dungeondevil
3rd Level Troll
Give me grain and I'll give you guns!
Posts: 214
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Post by dungeondevil on May 31, 2024 6:15:48 GMT -5
I prefer a generator that uses, not syllables, but actual words, e.g. Strumfiddle Droopysocks (obviously a bard). The type of name I tend to ban at my table for almost all games. I hate them. I guess it falls to "you do you, boo," (Angela Basset) but know you're not doing that at my table. And it'd keep me from your table, too. It snaps my verisimilitude. I'll note that the dual partial cyphers method works for more than just names. Set a cipher string for each language. It's also reversible. Just keep the source and dest arrays the same number of terms. I love being able to generate dictionaries with consistent process; some uses, I go and post process for certain unpronounceable combinations or duplicated sounds (which does break easy reversibility. My attitude is precisely as yours is: a distaste for the whimsical -- esp. when it comes to campaigns of a more serious, "adult" nature. (That's doesn't seem like the right word, now.) However, when playing with novices -- and many tend to be on the much younger side -- a whimsical name keeps things light and fun. Then again, Strumfiddle Droopysocks is not dissimilar to the old chestnuts "Gutboy Barrelhouse", "Fonkin Hoddypeak", or even "The Ran of Ah Foo" -- all names in... that other game. Humour is very much part of the DNA of gaming since the early 1970s.
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Post by Aramis of Erak on May 31, 2024 6:41:26 GMT -5
It snaps my verisimilitude. Even though a lot of real word names consist of existing words? it's not the real words; it's the sloppy and almost impossibly rare combination of things that just generally don't happen. it's the silly non-occupational, non relationship, derogatory surname. And the surname format being used for the personal name as well. I'm an SCA Herald, former sumbissions herald for An Tir, current clerk to same office. I see lots of really good, well researched names. I have a high bar. Very few cultures use negative imagery in descriptors. Droopysocks is such a negative. VERY few cultures use such constructs for personal names, as well. Norse and Japanese do, but the norse-descent languages froze on about 200 in total each. Mostly overlapping. Further, being in English and not following english norms? it's a verisimilitude. I'm not picky about when that set was; at least not when I know it or it can be shown.
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dungeondevil
3rd Level Troll
Give me grain and I'll give you guns!
Posts: 214
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Post by dungeondevil on May 31, 2024 14:05:21 GMT -5
An Tir? Sounds like Old Irish for "the land", as in Tir na nÓg, the happy afterlife place.
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